Casing-perforator.



L. F. BAASH.

CASING PERFORATOR. APPLICATION FILED smmzs. ma.

Patented M11212, 191s.

nun

LAWRENCE F. BAASI-I, 0F FILLIVIORE, CALIFORNIA.

CASING-PERFOBATOR.

Application filed September 26, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE F. BAAsI-I, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fillmore, in the county of Ventura and State of California,have invented new and useful Improvements in Casing-Perforators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a perforator and particularly pertains to adevice adapted to perforate holes through the walls, of well casing.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tool adapted forsimultaneously perforating a well. casing at opposite sides and toprovide an apparatus consisting of a minimum number of parts which iseasily manipulated and positive in action. 7

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

My invention consists in the combination, construction and arrangementof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a view in side elevation illustrating the completeperforating tool and particularly disclosing the cutter advancingmechanism with one of the springs broken away for the sake of clearness.

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation as seen in the direction of the arrow onFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in elevation illustrating on an enlargedscale the locking means provided the cutter mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the lower end of the perforator andparticularly discloses the cutter operating mechanism as in its lockedposition.

. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the lower end of the perforatoras seenin section and as illustrating the locking mechanism provided thecutters.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in section and elevation illustrating in adiagrammatical manner the initial contact between one of the cutterteeth and the casing wall.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 and illustrates the cutter tooth ashaving formed a perforation through the wall of the casing.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 indicates a perforatorbody which is substantially cylindrical in shape and is formed with ashank 11 at its upper end. The shank 11 is reduced in diameter at itsend and is threaded to permit it to be readily Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Mar. is, rare. Serial N0. 122,241.

mounted within a coupling member which will secure it to the end of arod by which it is suspended in the casing. The shank 11 is formed withflats 12 which permit it to be screwed into position. The portion of theperforator body disposed below the shank 11 is formed with a pair oflongitudinally alined cutter slots 14.- and 15, which extend entirelythrough the body for the reception of cutter wheels 16 and 17. Thesewheels are provided with spindles l8 and 19 upon which they are rigidlysecured and which are adapted to move along angular slots 20 and 21formed through the body member at right angles to the slots 1 and 15.The portion of the cutter body through which the slots pass is machinedto provide oppositely disposed parallel faces 22 and 23 upon which acutter wheel mechanism is adapted to reciprocate.

It will be noted that the slots 20 and 21 are formed with their angularportions extending in opposite directions from the ce11- ter of the bodymember and that the faces 22 and 23 are correspondingly positioned. Thisallows a back portion 24 to occur along one side of the faces to act asa guide for slide plates 25 and 26 which constitute a portion of thecutter wheel operating mechanism. These plates are formed integral andare adapted to bear upon the faces 22 and 28 respectively of the body,and have transverse slots 27 formed through them which are engaged bythe ends of the cutter spindles. It will be understood that the platesare in pairs upon opposite sides of the perforator body and are held inposition by means of longitudinally extending leaf springs 28 and 29.These springs are secured upon opposite sides of the perforator body bybolt 30 to the slide plates 25 and extend. downwardly therefrom. Bolt 30extends through the slots 20 and may be advanced therealong as willhereafter be explained. The lower ends of the springs are secured toeach other by a bolt 31 which extends along slots 21 thus holding theplates 25 and 26 in position upon their sliding planes.

In Fig. 1, the upper guide 24 is at the right hand side of the face 22and the lower guide 24. is at the left hand side. of the face 23, andthe spindle 18 moves to the left while the spindle 19 moves to theright, when the body 10 is lowered relative to the perforatingmechanism.

When the perforator is being lowered into a well it is desirable topositively prevent the cutter wheels from coming in contact with thewall of the casing thus impeding its movements therethrough. This isaccomplished in this device by means of a lock pin 32 which is mountedwithin a transverse bore 33 formed across the lower end of the bodymember and parallel to the bolt 31. The pin 32 is formed with a headportion 34 and has a pair of oppositely disposed transverse slots 35adjacent to its other end.

These slots form a reduced neck like a button adapted to be engaged by alock slot 36 formed upon an extension of one of the slide plates 26.Reference being had to Fig. 3, it will be seen that this slot has anenlarged opening at its upper end for permitting the free passage of thepin 32 through to allow the neck 35 to register with the main portion ofthe slot. The pin 32 is normally drawn within its recess by. a coilspring 37 acting beneath its head to positively insure the release ofthe cutter wheel operating mechanism when desired.

The perforation of casings has required considerable time in the pastdue to the manner in which the cutter blade efiected an opening throughthe casing wall. The cutter wheel having a tooth as particularly shownin Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, is

designed to overcome this difficulty. The

wheels preferably are formed with a plurality of teeth radially disposedand having a beveled or backed-0E cutting end. The teeth are longestupon the back sides so that the end faces of the teeth will strike flatagainst the face of the casing. This peculiar formation permits thecutting end of the tooth to abut squarely against the interior of thecasing atthe cutting moment, and will thus shear through the pipe alongall of its edges as the perforating proceeds, thus pro ducing aclean-cut hole from which a portion of the wall has been punched. Itwill be readily seen that such a cutting action is theoretically correctand will produce re-' sults greatly to be desired both as to the workdone and the time andpower required to accomplish it. F orwardlybeveling the cutting ends also provides a clearance so that the teethwill not hook to the casing in withdrawing the teeth after the holes arepunched.

As a means for relieving the friction which normally would occur betweenthe interior of the casing and the surface of the perforator body aseries of anti-friction ball bearings 38 are embedded with the face ofthe member in a manner readily to be rotated and will thus allow thedevice to be manipulated with considerable ease. V

In operation the device is set, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings,'by forcing.

the pin 32 outwardly to engage the slot 36 and prevent the movement ofthe slidable plates 25 and 26, and consequently of the cutter'wheels 16and 17. When the proper depth has been obtained, the perforator body isdrawn upwardly, and, as the leaf springs 28 and 29 are in intimatecontact with the casing wall, they will remain in a constant position;As the perforator is raised, the pin 32 will slide along the slot 36until it reaches the enlarged upper portion thereof at which time itwill move back into the recess 33. The actuating mechanism for thecutter wheels will then be freeto move, and as the perforator body isagain lowered the spindles of the cutter wheels will be advanced alongthe slots 20 and 21 and move to a position in contact with the casingwall. Further lowering of the device will cause the teeth of the cuttersto form perforations in opposite sides of the casing, as indicated inFig. 7 of the drawings. The device may then be withdrawn by lifting itas the cutter wheels will instantly be retracted. It will be understoodthat power may be delivered to 'thedevice by a plunger rod which isconnected to the jars of the well rig. I

It will thus be seen that the perforator here disclosed is simple inoperation and construction, and will efliciently produce a seriesof-perforations through a well casing with a relatively small amount ofpower and with ease of operation.

I claim: 7

1. A casing perforator comprisinga substantially cylindrical body memberhaving flattened faces at opposite sides and a longi-' tudinal slotextending through the'body at right angles to said faces, said facesbeing provided with alined slots communicating with said first-namedslot, said alined slots having their lower portions vertical and theirupper portions at an angle thereto, a

slide plate mounted on each of said flattened faces, said plates beingprovided with cuttcrwheel'bearings, a cutter-wheel mounted in saidbearings, having its teeth disposed in said longitudlnal slot, a pair ofsprings rigidly secured to said plates, and means op erative on theinitial raising of the casing perforator forcausing said springs tofrictionally engage the said casing and hold the same in stationaryrelation thereto during said flattened faces being in alinement withcorresponding slots on the other flattened face, a plurality of slideplates mounted on said flattened faces and provided with cut ter-wheelbearings, a cutter-wheel for each pair of oppositely disposed slideplates mounted in said bearings, the teeth of said cutter-wheels beingdisposed in said longitudinal slot, a pair of springs rigidly secured tosaid plates, and means operative on the initial raising of the casingperforator for causing said springs to frictionally engage the casing tobe perforated and to remain in stationary relation thereto during theperforating operation.

3. A casing perforator comprising a substantially cylindrical bodymember having a longitudinal slot extending therethrough, a pair ofalined slots at right angles to said longitudinal slots andcommunicating therewith, the lower portion of said slotsbeing verticaland the upper portion at an angle therewith, a pair of slide plates onopposite sides of said body, and movable along said last-named slots, acutter-wheel mounted in said plates, having its teeth disposed in saidlongitudinal slot, and means rigidly secured to said plates andoperative on the initial raising of the casing perforator for engagingthe casing to be perforated and to remain in stationary relation theretoduring the perforating operation.

4. In a casing perforator, a body member having upper flattened faces atopposite sides and lower flattened faces at opposite sides, said upperand lower faces being offset relatively to each other and there beingguides along corresponding sides of the upper faces and guides alongcorresponding sides of the lower faces, the upper guides being atopposite sides of the faces from the lower guides, and there being alongitudinal slot extending through the body at right angles to thefaces and each pair of faces being provided with a transverse slot atright angles to the longitudinal slot, the lower portions of saidtransverse slots being longitudinal and the upper portions of said slotsbeing oppositely inclined, slide plates mounted on the flattened facesand against the guides and having cutter wheel bearings transverselyelongated, cutter wheels in the longitudinal slot and having spindlesextending into the elongated cutter wheel bearings; so that as the slideplates move up wardly relatively to the body the cutter wheels will movelaterally and project their teeth beyond the body; means for holding theslide plates in position to withdraw the cutter wheels while theperforator is being pushed downwardly into a casing, and means to causethe'slide plates to stick in the casing and force the cutter wheelsoutwardly to perforate the casing.

5. In a casing perforator, a body member having flattened faces atopposite sides, there being a longitudinal slot extending through thebody at right angles to thg faces, and said faces being provided withtransverse slots at right angles to the longi tudinal slot, the lowerportions of the transverse slots being longitudinal and the upperportions being oppositely inclined, slide plates mounted on saidflattened faces and having cutter wheel bearings, cutter wheels mountedin the longitudinal slot and having spindles extending into the cutterwheel bearings; so that when the slide plates are down the cutter wheelteeth are withdrawn and when the slide plates are up the cutter wheelteeth are extended; and springs rigidly secured to the slide plates forengaging a casing and holding the slide plates during thev perforatingoperation.

6. In a casing perforator, a body having a longitudinal slot extendingtherethrough, transverse slots at right angles to the longitudinal slot,the lower portions of the transverse slots being longitudinal and theupper portions being oppositely inclined, a pair of slide plates onopposite sides of said body, bolts connecting the slide plates throughthe transverse slots, cutter wheels in the longitudinal slot and havingspindles extending through the transverse slots and through the slideplates; so that when the slide plates are down relatively to the bodythe cutter wheel teeth are withdrawn and so that when the slide platesare up relatively to the body the cutter wheel teeth are oppositelyextended; there being a transverse bore through the body member and aregistering slot through one of the slide plates, a lock pin in saidtransverse bore, and a spring for withdrawing the pin, said lock pinbeing adapted to button into said slot and hold the slide plates inposition to hold the cutter wheels withdrawn while the perforator isbeing insorted into a casing and so that by raising the body the lockpin will unbutton and withdraw and release the perforating mechanism foroperation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LAVVRENOE F. BAASH.

Goploa oi this patent my be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner at Patents, Washington, D. 0.

